David Cameron has used his St George’s Day address to call for a country that is both “fiercely independent and sticks with its allies”, in a veiled swipe at those campaigning for Britain to leave the EU.
The prime minister issued this year’s message, which marks the feast day of England’s patron saint, on a YouTube video in which he hailed the country’s global reach.
It will be seen as an attempt by Cameron to burnish his patriotic credentials in the face of attacks from the Eurosceptic right, while reaffirming Britain’s commitment to multilateralism ahead of the EU referendum on 23 June.
Cameron said: “For many years, St George’s Day hasn’t had the recognition it deserves. Perhaps our stiff upper lip has been too stiff.
“But it is vital to let our pride and patriotism show, remembering who we are and what has made us great. Because this is a country that is practical and passionate; that is fiercely independent and sticks with its allies.
“That’s how we helped win two world wars. It’s how we invented so much, created so much. It’s how we became part of the proudest multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy on earth.”
As St George’s Day coincided with the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, Cameron began his message with praise for the bard, describing him as “the world’s greatest writer”.
“Shakespeare’s genius captivated and changed the world, and men and women across England continue to do that today.
“I think of the Malaysian football fans cheering on English clubs, the Chinese children reciting English poems, the English bands blaring from Brazilian radios, English charities and aid money saving African lives and English soldiers’ names – so many of them – carved on to white stone in foreign fields.”
It is not the first time Cameron has used his St George’s Day message to score political points. Two years ago, before the Sottish independence referendum, he hailed England’s role in the UK “success story”. That echoed a similar point he made a year earlier when he called the union “a family of nations that will always be stronger together than they ever would be apart”.
In 2015 there was no official St George’s Day message, as the government was in its pre-election period of purdah.
St George, a high-ranking Roman soldier of Greek descent who was originally from Palestine, has been patron saint of England since 1350. According to Historic UK: “It is highly unlikely that he ever fought a dragon, and even more unlikely that he ever visited England.”
